MacBook Air...anyone bought used/refurbished from Ebay

[Kingfisher]

Looking at MacBook airs, thinking about saving a few dollars getting used one, anyone done this/experiences?

[Germany_chris]

Looking at MacBook airs, thinking about saving a few dollars getting used one, anyone done this/experiences?

Have you looked at the refurb section of the apple store?

http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialdeals/mac/macbook_air

[Chuck Hammer]

Some very good deals on Apples site in the refurb section (left side at the bottom of the store page). All have the 1 year warranty. You may need to look out for several days for the model you want.

Good Luck

[eippo1]

Looking at MacBook airs, thinking about saving a few dollars getting used one, anyone done this/experiences?


I'd look more closely at getting one refurbished w/ some kind of warranty than used. I have bought my used laptops from a brick and mortar place and it really came in handy because stuff that can go wrong with used computer equipment, will go wrong. And this is coming from a guy that has build all his desktops for the past 15 years.

[rice rocket]

I bought my Macbook Pro refurbed.

Apple's refurbs are basically brand new. They replace the keyboard, LCD glass, etc. The warranty is 1 year with an option to extend.

[Chuck Hammer]

Keep an eye out here also.... nothing available right now

http://dealmac.com/

[gavingould]

i bought a refurb iMac from Apple a few years back... i will say it's a wise investment to get the Applecare extended warranty though. after a couple years the screen was showing signs that looked like burn-in. would have cost $700+ to repair, but cost me $169 (cost of Applecare) and would cover anything else that went wrong.

i'd buy a refurb again, and i'll likely always get Applecare if buying a laptop or highly integrated/lots of proprietary parts machine like an iMac.

[Andrewlcox]

Have you looked at the refurb section of the apple store?

http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialdeals/mac/macbook_air

Funny you should ask. Here's an article (http://lifehacker.com/5880966/why-you-should-choose-refurbished-if-youre-buying-apple-products) just posted recently on Lifehacker.

If you read the comments you'll see many people believe in refurbished products from Apple.

Good luck,
Andy

[jpw]

Bought my Thinkpad refurb - a tank.

[rnhood]

I question whether 15% off is all that good of a deal. Discounts greater than 15% often mean they are more than a generation removed. And these will have inferior hardware and may not even run the current Mac operating system.

My preference would be a new one unless you are getting dedicated machine for something like a music server - and you probably would not want an "Air" model for that.

Bought my Thinkpad refurb - a tank.

The Thinkpad is a tank but its also a good notebook.

[professerr]

I question whether 15% off is all that good of a deal. Discounts greater than 15% often mean they are more than a generation removed. And these will have inferior hardware and may not even run the current Mac operating system.


I've bought several refurbished Macs directly from Apple. I'd guess there is only a 4 month lag between when a new (or updated) model is introduced and when it shows up on the Apple site as refurbished. (The refurbished model is indistinguishable from new and comes with the same warranty. They'll also take care of you at the Genius bar, just like a new one.) So you definitely can pick up refurbished, current generation models. You do need to pay attention to the indicated product release date that the webstore provides to be sure you are getting the most recent hardware -- as you pointed out they also sell prior generation stuff which often looks the same. MacRumors has a great guide that can help you figure out the release date of the most current model and what was updated: http://buyersguide.macrumors.com/#MacBook_Air

I think you're probably right that if the discount is greater than 15%, the odds are much greater that the item is a prior generation. But still, 15% is nothing to sneeze at on a $1000-$3000 product.

[Don49]

You might also consider an iPad with a Zagg keyboard case http://www.zagg.com/accessories/logitech-ipad-2-keyboard-case as an alternative to the Macbook Air.

I regularly listen to the "Mac Power Users" podcast, and the most recent episode is devoted to using an iPad with a keyboard case as an alternative to a Macbook Air. They particularly emphasized the greatly increased battery life with the iPad (10 hrs) compared to the Air (3 hours). And the built-in 3G connectivity.

Might be something to consider before getting the Air.

[beeatnik]

Get an Air, 11 inch screen. Use 4G LTE. It'll change the way you work.

Trust me.

[staggerwing]

Either:

Refurb from Apple

or

New from MicroCenter, if you have one around.

About the only place I know of that regularly discounts popular Apple laptops, but it is in store only, and you are going to have to go through the sales droid du jour. Actually, I can't complain about the guy that sold me my MacBook Pro. Told me to skip all the extras I was thinking about, live with it for a while, and come back if there was a hole that needed to be filled. The deal, at that time, was $200 off list, for current product. I think Airs are currently going for $100 of list. The refurb is still $100 less.

I don't drink all the fanboy Koolaid, but it is a great road warrior option. The PC end is just now starting to catch up, a couple years down the line. Ultrabook is the buzzword, but they aren't much cheaper, if any, and don't have any track record. FWIW, most of my systems are PC's.

[Kane]

The Macbook Air has a battery that is integrated into the base of the machine. Not a great design for durability. Get the warranty!!

[buck-50]

I'm writing this from a refurbed mac book pro I bought from apple- it cost me about $300 less than new and it's been awesome.

As a friend in IT put it, getting a refurb is just getting a computer that they've gone over and checked twice...

[Germany_chris]

I question whether 15% off is all that good of a deal. Discounts greater than 15% often mean they are more than a generation removed. And these will have inferior hardware and may not even run the current Mac operating system.

My preference would be a new one unless you are getting dedicated machine for something like a music server - and you probably would not want an "Air" model for that.



The Thinkpad is a tank but its also a good notebook.

every mac since 07 can run 10.7 it requires a Core2Duo and 2gb ram

[Germany_chris]

The Macbook Air has a battery that is integrated into the base of the machine. Not a great design for durability. Get the warranty!!

All portable macs do it's actually better for durability with no securing mechanism.

[cody.wms]

Refurb'd macs are awesome. In my office, we have a dozen or so people on them, and have for several generations of computers. The difference tends to be about what it costs to get AppleCare, so you end up with the same computer, just with three years' worth of warranty. This is great, with the caveat that it makes it much easier when you have an Apple store or four around you. We haven't had any major problems with the refurb machines.

Apple is quick to take back product when they first come out, in order to suss out production problems. A friend of mine's Air was getting a less battery life than expected -- no problem, out he went with a new one. His old one will get examined and inspected and end up on the Apple site as a refurb. Apple ends up with a happy customer, founds out whatever problem existed, and gets to resell the computer.

[BobbyJones]

Apple is quick to take back product when they first come out, in order to suss out production problems. A friend of mine's Air was getting a less battery life than expected -- no problem, out he went with a new one. His old one will get examined and inspected and end up on the Apple site as a refurb. Apple ends up with a happy customer, founds out whatever problem existed, and gets to resell the computer.

The Apple way: You pay to be a beta tester with both time and money then you get stoked because they resolve the problem that should have never happened in the first place.

That being said, I've always bought refurbed from Apple- Let someone else take the depreciation and you'll get essentially a new machine. The one recent MacBook I bought new a couple of years ago deteriorated quickly- I'd rather have saved the few hundred dollars and put it towards AppleCare.

[tannhauser]

Get an Air, 11 inch screen. Use 4G LTE. It'll change the way you work.

Trust me.


Way faster than the 4G?

[cody.wms]

The Apple way: You pay to be a beta tester with both time and money then you get stoked because they resolve the problem that should have never happened in the first place.


True. But I think this is the case with most electronics, unless you are buying a very old design. The good thing with Apple is that, provided you have access to an Apple Store, they take care of it. I have a friend who has a Sony laptop, and I think the thing has spent more time in transit going to the repair center than anything.

If I didn't work on an Apple all day, I'd for sure take a look at some of the Air-like Windows computers out there. I saw an Asus at Best Buy that was around $500 or so. It looked pretty good, but I'm way too deep in the cult at this point (I cringe thinking about having to replace all of my photo software).

[beeatnik]

Way faster than the 4G?

Not really a speed issue for me. I just think that combo is an Ipad killer. You get the connectivity and portability of an Ipad but are also able to run memory intensive applications. All you give up is the touch screen. The dream of a true virtual office...

[tannhauser]

Not really a speed issue for me. I just think that combo is an Ipad killer. You get the connectivity and portability of an Ipad but are also able to run memory intensive applications. All you give up is the touch screen. The dream of a true virtual office...

For work in a single spot, I agree. For pharma reps, for instance, and guys who need to show something to someone short of time, the pad boots up at the drop of a hat and stops people in their tracks when you actually have something to show them.

[jpw]

You might also consider an iPad with a Zagg keyboard case http://www.zagg.com/accessories/logitech-ipad-2-keyboard-case as an alternative to the Macbook Air.

I regularly listen to the "Mac Power Users" podcast, and the most recent episode is devoted to using an iPad with a keyboard case as an alternative to a Macbook Air. They particularly emphasized the greatly increased battery life with the iPad (10 hrs) compared to the Air (3 hours). And the built-in 3G connectivity.

Might be something to consider before getting the Air.

Does the Zagg board have a trackpad?

[Germany_chris]

For work in a single spot, I agree. For pharma reps, for instance, and guys who need to show something to someone short of time, the pad boots up at the drop of a hat and stops people in their tracks when you actually have something to show them.

While I'm sure an ipad boots even faster my MBP w/SSD will boot to usable desktop with wifi in 17 seconds..but then the only time I shut it down completely is after an update I think the best thin about the iPad is you could hand it someone while walking..

[tannhauser]

While I'm sure an ipad boots even faster my MBP w/SSD will boot to usable desktop with wifi in 17 seconds..but then the only time I shut it down completely is after an update I think the best thin about the iPad is you could hand it someone while walking..

This is the game changer. It flings the door wide open for companies to adopt Macs for ease of integration. All without sales reps.

[beeatnik]

For work in a single spot, I agree. For pharma reps, for instance, and guys who need to show something to someone short of time, the pad boots up at the drop of a hat and stops people in their tracks when you actually have something to show them.

MacBook Air has a flash drive. Should boot up just as fast and the screen's resolution should be more dynamic. If it's slower it's only a matter of seconds. I also get 6 hours of battery life from a full charge. It's an amazing machine. I can type 80wpm and the ergonomics of the keyboard feel just as good if not better than my 17-inch Dell. And let's not forget the durability. I'll take the al casing over plastic any day. Of course you can shove the Ipad in a case but that only makes it bulkier than the Air.

[tannhauser]

MacBook Air has a flash drive. Should boot up just as fast and the screen's resolution should be more dynamic. If it's slower it's only a matter of seconds. I also get 6 hours of battery life from a full charge. It's an amazing machine. I can type 80wpm and the ergonomics of the keyboard feel just as good if not better than my 17-inch Dell. And let's not forget the durability. I'll take the al casing over plastic any day. Of course you can shove the Ipad in a case but that only makes it bulkier than the Air.

Believe me, if I could justify both I would.

[Don49]

Does the Zagg board have a trackpad?
I don't think so, but you are working with a touchscreen device (iPad) so it may not matter that much.

Here's a link to the podcast I mentioned on the iPad (w/keyboard) vs Macbook Air: http://macpowerusers.com/2012/01/mpu-071-harry-mccrackens-ipad/#more-1094

[weiwentg]

I question whether 15% off is all that good of a deal. Discounts greater than 15% often mean they are more than a generation removed. And these will have inferior hardware and may not even run the current Mac operating system.

My preference would be a new one unless you are getting dedicated machine for something like a music server - and you probably would not want an "Air" model for that.



The Thinkpad is a tank but its also a good notebook.

As with bike components, we always want the newest and shiniest, but when you look at the big picture the changes from generation to generation are usually not very large. Additionally, the "may not even run the current Mac OS" bit is totally wrong. You might be thinking of the iPhone 3 vs 4, but any of the Mac computers within the last 3 years, probably more, can easily run the newest OS.